If you could delete one category from the MarTech stack tomorrow, what would it be?

Summary

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MarTech Podcast ™ Episode Summary

Episode Title: If you could delete one category from the MarTech stack tomorrow, what would it be?
Host: Benjamin Shapiro
Guest: Anda Ginska, Co-Founder and CEO of Knotch
Date: July 9, 2026

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Overview

In this concise yet thought-provoking episode of the MarTech Podcast, Benjamin Shapiro explores a challenging hypothetical with guest Anda Ginska: If given the power, which single category would you remove from the modern MarTech stack? The conversation dives into the shifting landscape of marketing technology, the evolving relevance of legacy platforms, and the emerging importance of AI-centric approaches to customer experience.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Which MarTech Category Would You Delete?

• [02:26] Benjamin Shapiro poses the core question:

  “If you could delete one category from the Martech stack tomorrow, what would it be?”

• [02:29] Anda Ginska deliberates between two choices:
  • Content Management Systems (CMS)
  • Geo (local search/GEO SEO tools)

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2. Rationale Behind Challenging Legacy Systems

• CMS Critique

  • [02:41] Anda Ginska:

    “CMS is predicated on the idea of pages and the proliferation of pages, which is categorically opposed to the quality of human experience. As well as the quality of agent experience.”

  • Continues that this approach makes little sense in the evolving landscape and may not have a place "in the world of tomorrow."

• Geo (SEO) Critique

  • Anda sees GEO as essentially a subset of broader SEO efforts, not a separate or essential standalone category.

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3. Blurring Lines Between Martech Categories

• [03:14] Benjamin Shapiro:

  “I think of GEO being a subset of SEO, right?... It’s done by the same people. It’s all the SEOs that are doing GEO. We just, you know, decided to call it something different.”

  • Highlights how there is often unnecessary separation of tools and practices that are fundamentally very similar.

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4. Looking Forward: The Rise of AI Experience Infrastructure (ACE)

• [03:41] Anda Ginska:

  “We’re calling ACE AI Experience Infrastructure. And I think it’s a needed kind of new category to articulate that in today’s world, you need a new infrastructure for both the AI-native buyer and the agent.”

  • She suggests that ACE is emerging to fulfill the roles previously covered by CMS, GEO, SEO, and related acronyms.
  • Predicts many legacy stack solutions are likely to be replaced by more integrated, AI-first approaches.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Anda Ginska [02:41]:

  “CMS is predicated on the idea of pages and the proliferation of pages, which is categorically opposed to the quality of human experience.”

• Benjamin Shapiro [03:14]:

  “It’s all the SEOs that are doing GEO. We just, you know, decided to call it something different.”

• Anda Ginska [03:41]:

  “We’re calling ACE AI Experience Infrastructure... you need a new infrastructure for both the AI-native buyer and the agent.”

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [02:26] — The big question: “If you could delete one category from the MarTech stack tomorrow, what would it be?”
• [02:41] — Anda critiques the outdated thinking behind CMS and its incompatibility with high-quality user experiences.
• [03:14] — Benjamin and Anda discuss the redundancy between GEO and SEO.
• [03:41] — Introduction and explanation of the emerging “AI Experience Infrastructure (ACE)” category and its future role.
• [04:14] — Episode wrap and thanks.

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Episode Tone & Takeaways

The conversation is candid, insightful, and futurist, challenging comfortable paradigms and drawing attention to the inertia in legacy marketing tech categories. Anda Ginska champions forward-thinking, AI-native solutions over traditional, partitioned platforms, encouraging marketers to rethink the foundational assumptions behind their stacks.

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Guest and Contact Information

• Guest: Anda Ginska, Co-Founder and CEO of Knotch
• Find her: LinkedIn (see show notes) or at knotch.com

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Summary prepared for listeners who want the episode’s actionable insights and future-facing perspectives, bypassing sponsor messages and platform promotions.

Transcript

[Podcast Announcer]

The Martech Podcast is a proud member of the I Hear Everything Podcast Network. Looking to launch or scale your podcast, I Hear Everything delivers podcast production, growth and monetization solutions that transform your words into profit. Ready to give your brand a voice? Then visit iheareverything.com.

[Benjamin Shapiro]

From advertising to software as a service to data across all of our programs and clients, we've seen a 55 to 65% open rate. Getting brands authentically integrated into content performs better than TV advertising. Typical lifespan of an article is about 24 to 36 hours. We're reaching out to the right person with the right message and a clear call to action. Then it's just a matter of timing.

[Podcast Announcer]

Welcome to the Martech Podcast, a member of the I Hear Everything Podcast Network. In this podcast, you'll hear the stories of world class marketers that you technology to drive business results and achieve career success. Here's the host of the Martech Podcast, Benjamin Shapiro.

[Shift Paradigm Sponsor Voice]

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[Benjamin Shapiro]

category from the Martech stack tomorrow, what would it be?

[Anda Ginska]

Ooh, it's a. It's a tough. It's a tough choice between CMS and geo.

[Benjamin Shapiro]

That's funny, because I feel like you work in both of those industries in some way. Why those two?

[Anda Ginska]

I think CMS is predicated on the idea of pages and the proliferation of pages, which is categorically opposed to the quality of human experience. As well as the quality of agent experience. So it just makes no sense that it would, it would continue in the world of tomorrow. Geo, because I think, I think the fundamentals of SEO apply and I think as a category, it probably is just a subcategory essentially of what you need to do to do good marketing.

[Benjamin Shapiro]

Yeah. It's funny, I think of GEO being a subset of SEO, right. It's still search engine optimization. Fundamentally, people are still searching for answers. It's just different tactics for how you're trying to get, you know, the 10 blue links, as opposed to showing up in the answers, how you're structuring your content, what information you're feeding. It's still all the same practice. And honestly, it's done by the same people. It's all the SEOs that are doing GEO. We just, you know, decided to call it something different.

[Anda Ginska]

Yeah, I mean, we're calling ACE AI Experience Infrastructure. And I think it's a needed kind of new category to articulate that in today's world, you need a new infrastructure for both the AI, native buyer and the agent. And so it is in some ways fulfilling the purpose of a cms, NGO and SEO and all the other kind of acronyms that deal with the website. But I just think those, those kind of older stack solutions are probably not going to be around.

[Benjamin Shapiro]

That wraps up this episode of the Martech podcast. Thanks to Anda Ginska, co founder and CEO of Notch, for joining us.

[Shift Paradigm Sponsor Voice]

A special thanks to Shift Paradigm for sponsoring this podcast. Shift is an integrated team of experts who help enterprise brands bridge the gap between strategy data and customers. Human first, AI enabled and execution led. They build the blueprints, then stay to develop, deploy and run the engine you need. So stop settling for decks that collect dust and start working with a team that actually builds for you. Visit ShiftParadigm.com to see how they can help you connect meaningfully with your audience.

[Benjamin Shapiro]

If you'd like to contact Anda, you can find a link to her LinkedIn profile in our show notes or on martechpod.com or you can visit her company's website, which is notch. Com. That's knotch. Com. If you haven't subscribed yet and you want a daily stream of marketing and technology knowledge in your podcast feed, hit the subscribe button in your podcast app or on YouTube and we'll be back in your feed every week. All right, that's it for today, but until next time, my advice is to just focus on keeping your customers happy.

[Anda Ginska]

Foreign.

[Podcast Announcer]

Thanks for listening to the Martech podcast and I hear everything. Production Looking to launch or scale a podcast like this one for your brand? Then visit iheareverything.com.